Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $273.50

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on ADP, with eight hold, three buy and one sell rating. The average 12-month price target is $273.50, modestly above the reported opening price of $261.80.
• ADP exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.64 in EPS versus the $2.59 consensus and $5.47 billion in revenue, up 6.8% year over year. The company also provided fiscal 2027 EPS guidance of $12.12–$12.34.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.70 per share, equivalent to an annualized $6.80 payout and a 2.6% yield. Insiders sold approximately $9.45 million of stock over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 80.03% of shares.

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $273.50.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $216.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $248.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $240.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $295.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $261.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $271.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $236.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.82. Automatic Data Processing has a 52 week low of $188.16 and a 52 week high of $293.91.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 71.34% and a net margin of 20.11%.The company had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2027 guidance at 12.120-12.340 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing will post 12.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 29,810 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $8,373,927.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 80,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,648,087.84. This trade represents a 26.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP David Kwon sold 798 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $223,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 13,193 shares in the company, valued at $3,694,040. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,773 shares of company stock worth $9,450,629. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ADP. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter valued at $8,097,229,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,940,841 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,903,769,000 after buying an additional 133,039 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,393,607 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,159,088,000 after buying an additional 372,413 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter valued at about $1,231,175,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter worth about $994,937,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Automatic Data Processing

Automatic Data Processing, Inc NASDAQ: ADP is a provider of human capital management and business outsourcing solutions. The company helps organizations manage payroll, tax withholding and compliance, employee benefits, time and attendance, workforce management, talent acquisition, and human resources administration.

ADP offers cloud-based platforms and related services designed for businesses of different sizes, from small companies to large multinational employers. Its offerings include payroll and HR software, workforce analytics, talent management tools, retirement and insurance-related administration, and professional employer organization services through ADP TotalSource.

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